“But-“
“I have no time for such talk. I’m going to check my weapons. I’d advise you to do the same.”
“Again? We just wanted to…”
But she was gone.
“There goes a Warrior’s Warrior,” came Vehr’s voice. “She’s right, you know. There’s reason for everything in the Empire. Asking about it is only a waste of time. If there wasn’t a reason, the situation wouldn’t exist. The fact the High Command issues an order is all the proof you need that a reason exists.”
“But don’t you ever ask questions?”
There was a moment of silence before Vahr replied.
“I did once, just after the campaign against the Wasps. The casualty rates on the planet we hit exceeded even the Empire’s calculations. When I saw so many Tzen die, I asked questions not unlike the ones you asked Kor. Wasn’t there a better way? Why risk lives unnecessarily. In fact, I got permission to take time out from training to try to find the answers.”
“What happened?”
“Two things. First, I found the answer to my questions. In short, we don’t use chemicals or bacteria for the same reason you don’t cut off your arm to get rid of scale mites. We don’t want to destroy what we’re trying to save. We’re in this war because the First Ones upset the ecological balance of the Universe. They allowed the Insects to spread off-planet, away from natural enemies or control. Unchecked, they’ll spread through the Universe, denuding every habitable planet they find. That is the imbalance we’re trying to correct…for our own sakes. We won’t do it by unbalancing things further. Chemicals kill indiscriminately. Bacteria, once started, may be impossible to stop. If we want to preserve the Universe, not destroy it ourselves, the war must be fought on the simplest level possible.”